In the middle of nowhere, a castle lurks amongst the clouds. One would expect to see such a structure dominating the skyline, but this is not the case. In fact,we never saw it till we driving up the private road on a bus.

The bus ride is on a switchback small not quite two lane road that is shared by cows. As we entered hairpin turn after hairpin turn, people gasped as we crunched the gravel on the sides. Every so often, the mist parted and the twin towers of the castle magically appeared. I was in awe,others were just plain terrified. Some became animated when a coyote was darted by the roadside.

. It was incredible. The storyline behind the building of the castle piqued our interest. The lavish parties held here were a sign of the times in early Hollywood. Yet on the dinning room table sat many bottles of ketchup and mustard and yes in the bottles. One was surrounded by artwork of the 13 th tthrough 20 centuries and yet the family and guests were done to earth.

Both swimming pools were a sight to behold. The indoor pool was all blue tile and the sun shone into to create an illusion of a roman bath. The outdoor pool was surrounded by huge stairways and statues in the water. It was fronted by roman columns. The water glistened. If you listened carefully, one might hear the laughter of former guests cavorting in the pool.

The trip down the mountainside was awesome as the fog had lifted and the whitecapss on the shoreline were now visible.